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Tuesday 6 January 2015

Coren's confusion over papal authority -

In a recent quote on Facebook referring to his most recent Sun Newspaper article, journalist and "Catholic" author Michael Coren wrote the following:

What I didn't say in my column today was that many right-wing Catholics are so angry with Pope Francis that they are - implicitly and often explicitly - questioning Papal authority; without that, of course, Roman Catholicism has no distinct meaning. Not that right-wing Catholics are alone in this; liberals exhibited the same attitude about John Paul and Benedict. All of which leads us to ask just how many Catholics actually believe that the Pope is the direct descendant of Peter and has exclusive authority. In a world of open debate, encouraged dissent and fierce social media this presents a profound problem for Roman Catholicism. It's going to be an interesting 2015.

Fellow journalist Deborah Guyapong left a comment challenging Coren's statement:

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote: “After the Second Vatican Council, the impression arose that the pope really could do anything … especially if he were acting on the mandate of an ecumenical council … In fact, the First Vatican Council had in no way defined the pope as an absolute monarch. On the contrary, it presented him as the guarantor of obedience to the revealed Word. The pope’s authority is bound to the Tradition of faith … The authority of the pope is not unlimited; it is at the service of Sacred Tradition.”
And this is what Vatican I had defined: “The Holy Spirit was not promised to Peter’s successors so that by its revelation they might disclose new doctrine, but, so that, by its assistance, they might devoutly guard and faithfully set forth the revelation handed down through the Apostles.

Deborah has done us a favour by citing the quote above and links the whole article to Father Hunwicke's Mutual Enrichment which addresses a statement by Cardinal Marx of Germany.

What is a "right-wing Catholic" Michael? Is it someone that accepts what the Church has taught down the centuries? Is that a bad thing? I watched your recent interview with Alissa Golub where you showed disdain for the sacrifice Mary Wagner is making and I am saddened by it - though at least you featured it and for that at least, I applaud you. However, the fact remains; as Barona so rightly testifies, her imprisonment, whilst according to the law, is a mark of fascism which has slowly been creeping into our beloved Canada quoting Bishop Johannes Maria Gföllner; “The nation is not the highest power, nor may the state be idolized; The highest power for each nation is and remains religion.” False religion and error has no rights.

These neo-caths (he uses labels so let us use them too) such as Coren, Mark Shea and a host of others are displaying papolatry and that is not Catholic. They and many since the Second Vatican Council have betrayed Our Blessed Lord and His Social Kingship and are Judases, many of them, clerical Judases!

If Pope Francis stood up tomorrow and said "I solemnly proclaim that the moon is made of cream cheese and I bind the belief on all Catholics" would you rush to the store to buy bagels and smoked salmon to celebrate and hire Virgin Airlines to take you there to shovel it up?

Soon, the Pope is expected to issue an Encyclical on the environment. Rumour has it that he will release it at the United Nations. This is appalling and has the credibility of the moon made of green cheese. What does the Pope know of the environment and so-called "global-warming?"

Good grief, climate changes why do you think that there are fossils of ferns and palms in Greenland! 

I will reserve judgement until I see that encyclical but if it trumpets the usual left-wing, Al Gore poppycock of man being responsible for climate change, I will put it in the same category as the moon being made of cream cheese. Stewardship is one thing, a political agenda based on junk-science is something else entirely and not befitting the Vicar of Christ or the Holy Catholic Church.

Now, before one says that we "trads" and "right-wing Catholics" are creating confusion, read the two statements below by Pope Francis : 



“She, during her earthly life, knew no small difficulties, joined to the daily fatigue of existence,” he said. “But she never lost peace of heart, the fruit of trustful abandonment to the mercy of God. Let us ask Mary, our tender Mother, to show to the whole world the sure path of love and of peace.”
  
"The Gospel does not tell us anything: if she spoke a word or not… She was silent, but in her heart, how many things told the Lord! ‘You, that day, this and the other that we read, you had told me that he would be great, you had told me that you would have given him the throne of David, his forefather, that he would have reigned forever and now I see him there!’ Our Lady was human! And perhaps she even had the desire to say: ‘Lies! I was deceived!’"

Seriously Michael, Mark and the rest of you, stop misinterpreting the First Vatican Council on the authority of the Pope ; you display ignorance that I find incredulous, particularly as Catholic writers. 

7 comments:

Barona said...

Pope Francis is bound by the dogmatic decrees of the Councils and of his predecessors. He is free in governance and administration. When Pope John Paul II reiterated in an address to the Rota - referencing Pius XII to marriage, and outlining that no Pope has the power to change the Law of Christ it means precisely that. Francis' hands are tied.


With regard to Coren: this is the second time that this pathetic little man has attacked a Catholic lady. THis attack is far worse. To attack a young woman who has freely allowed herself to be jailed for radically (meaning going to the root) upholding the rights of the most vulnerable life is despicable. He joins the Judas churchmen as a back-stabber himself.

Coren has also done something else: he has just "enabled" all the vile, cowardly churchmen who have been hell-bent on maintaining silence over Mary's unjust confinement; he is doing their dirty work for them.

Unknown said...

My life was improved when I un-friended that particular journalist from Facebook.

Aged parent said...

Mr Coren seems unduly obsequious toward "the law" which leads him to come to the most absurd conclusions. It might be a good idea to remind him of Mr Bumble's description of the "law", as releated by Charles Dickens in "Oliver Twist":

"The law is an ass, sir; the law is a idiot."

The Goat said...

Michael Coren has always been a Politically Correct weenie. His brief time as a Catholic was just another event on the way to his gold medal victory in the Ficklympics. Next stop Anglicanism.

They should cut his show and just give two hours to Ezra.

Brian said...

Coren is a shape shifting catholic "presstitute", espousing a self serving and very shallow chameleon Catholicism. Coren, like all these neo-con Catholics, is a conservative/liberal hybrid. The dark shadow of the New Theology reveals itself, more and more, especially, under the current leadership, in Rome. The sooner Catholics see this the better. I wonder how his speaking gigs are going? After listening to him trash Catholic bloggers (they who dare to remain faithful) and those with the temerity to challenge him when he flipped flopped in support of the "gay" template, I stopped wasting my time watching his program.

Qui de modernismo est, de modernismo loquitur.

Anonymous said...

Coren is a dilletante. First a Jew, now a Catholic, what next, a Muslim? That would be a perfect Abrahamic trifecta.

Luciano said...

@Anonymous, Coren was born Jewish, became Catholic, became a born again Christian, became Catholic once again.
I have long stopped watching or listening to him, he reminds too much of a certain Catholic media mogul priest who is very much into self promotion.